Over the past few years, I haven't been one to make resolutions when January 1st rolls around. Between having a baby, renovating an antique home, and everything else that seems to have happened, I have been busy enough trying to keep myself focused on accomplishing pretty much anything. This year felt a bit different to me. The catastrophic issues with the house have been fixed, the child is finally sleeping through the night (if you call waking up at 5:30am sleeping through the night), and I can usually count on at least two hours during the day of 'me time' while he naps. It took me a while to figure out how to manage every waking minute of my life to a point where I can actually do something other than cleaning, laundry, baking or whatnot during that 'me time'. Thankfully the little guy at least seems to like to follow the vacuum cleaner around to experience the exhaust blowing in his face (HEPA filter!!). Of course he has also figured out how to retract the cord and turn the machine on and off, but I look at this drawn out process of cleaning the floors as one of the more peaceful times of the week. Thought bubble... I should probably be worried that the mashed pile of blueberry waffle that I saw under my desk earlier today is missing.
 
Focus! So this year felt a bit different to me. My main issue seems to be motivating myself to use the me time wisely. That general softening of the brain that occurs when you are sleep deprived for over a year and a half can really affect one's choice of activity. Now that I am starting to chip away at the sleep deficit, I seem to have energy to do more than scour Perez Hilton for the latest in celebrity gossip. Enter Pinterest! At least it's a bit more inspiring, right? The other day I did a search on linen hoping to find some weaving inspriation. Several minutes later I was so engrossed in photos of yards of this glorious material that I even thought I was smelling linen. Turns out the water evaporated from the pot I had simmering on top of the stove, and my bamboo steamer was starting to burn! At least I had perfectly steamed carrots for the little guy. 
 
Wasn't this supposed to be about resolutions for the new year? Okay. First one has to do with focus. Clearly my start on that has been less than successful. Next. Use the good china. I was staring at the china cabinet the other day admiring the set of dishes I inherited from my grandparents, when I realized that I had really only used the sugar bowl and a few of the tea cups and saucers. So I resolved to make at least one dinner a week feel a little more civilized by serving it up on the good china. Of course a little more civilized should probably be more like actually eating dinner while sitting at the table rather than wolfing it down as I'm in a full sprint trying to intercept the kiddo before he drops the cable remote into the toilet. Yes. We installed a toilet lock earlier this week. 
 
Next. Weave more. This is going to be an easy one since my weaving hours have been woefully slim over the past two years. I am already on a roll with my first doubleweave project underway and all sorts of other creations queueing up in my mind.
 
And finally, learn to tat or at least try to learnt to tat. I am envisioning lovely handwoven linens trimmed with tatting. I have acquired three books and a dvd, and once I track down a tatting shuttle, I will sit down and give this a go. Stay tuned to see if I can get the old brain firing on enough cylinders to make this happen. 
 
In six moths I will plan a mid-year review with myself to see if I am on track.  Time to evaluate the budget and plan for a performance bonus! In the meantime, feel free to check out my latest free project, a Shaker-inspired carpet, for Schacht Spindle Company.